Comparison of Square one and Indigo Heights

In this piece of writing, I would be providing you with an extensive comparison of Square one and Indigo Heights. This is a must read for everyone in Lahore who is witness of the evolutionary phase, the city is going through.

This evolution of infrastructure marks the beginning of a new era for Lahore. Gulberg being at the center of Lahore, has seen most of the development of high rise buildings and multi-dwellings.

About Gulberg, It is considered one of the most expensive and luxurious locale of Lahore. High rise buildings can be seen in almost every corner in the blue area of Gulberg and offers various facilities to the investors.

In the past 3 years, Lahore has seen the inauguration of two biggest malls of Pakistan. The Packages mall on Walton road and the Emporium mall in Johar town, Lahore. The emergence of these shopping centers has attracted a large crowd, within and even from outside the city.

As we talk about multi-dwellings in the area of Gulberg, I will be focusing on two of the under construction projects,

1. Square one

Square One is a 12 floors multi-dwelling being constructed on MM Alam road besides Park lane hotel opposite Firdous market. First 3 floors are reserved for commercial use, 4th floor for recreational activities, 5 floors for a four star hotel and 2 basements for car parking. The hotel would be managed by the Best Western Premier hotel chains which offers a luxury standard living. The developers of Square One promises to deliver more than the investors expectation among the prominent dwellings in Gulberg.

2.Indigo heights

Indigo Heights is a 22 floor multi-dwelling with 5 floors for commercial use, 14 floors for apartments, penthouses and 3 for basements for car parking. This high rise offers an extravagant living standard with a number of facilities and amenities which would be managed by experienced developers with their hotel management skills. The developers of Indigo Heights promises to make this building a landmark and the highest high rise in the prominent area of Gulberg.

Location

Let me first focus on the locations of both of these multi-dwellings and share some common and unique advantages.

Square one is present on the well-known MM Alam road, which is no doubt mostly known for its shopping outlets, restaurants and cafes. Square one is present at the start of MM ALam right across the Firdous market.

The only factor which concerns me about its location is the traffic. This is a plus in general as its a corner plaza and it will give it a very prominent edge over other projects. However  at some points in the day this area can get a bit congested with traffic as the road is not much wide hence creating a bottle neck and can bother the incoming visitors. On the exit side though this problem does not exist.

Another huge plus is that this would be the first stopping point for visitors coming from Ferozepur road, Cantt, DHA and Cavalry.

Moving on to Indigo height’s location which is present on Noor Jahan road right across Hussain chowk on MM Alam road. This locale derives traffic on both ends, the visitors coming from the liberty side and from MM alam side.

Noor Jahan road is comparatively wider than MM Alam road and consists of same features as MM Alam. The entrance for Indigo heights will not be much of a trouble as the visitors travelling from liberty side will get an easy access.

For both of these dwellings the visitors would have to come across Hussain chowk whether to get to Square one or Indigo Heights.

So which one is better ? I will leave it for you to decide, while Square one is much more prominent and located on one of the busiest crossing of Lahore Gulberg, Indigo heights offers relatively easier accessibility and approach.

Amenities

Amenities in a multi-dwelling are one of the most vital factors to be considered. Let’s have a look what amenities does both of the dwellings has to offer.

Square one offers:

• Gym
• Swimming pool
• Steam and sauna
• Health bar and fitness club
• Conference rooms
• Terrace garden
• Fine dining restaurant

Indigo heights offers

• A fitness gym
• Spa
• Al fresco dining
• Library
• Mosque
• Virtual offices
• Swimming pool
• Play area
There is not much difference in the amenities which these dwellings are providing. Both of these dwellings offer much needed amenities as an escape from daily life schedule and keeping fit.

Power generation and backup

Square offers 24hour power back which is operated by fuel generators and offer and uninterrupted power supply. Whereas Indigo Heights offers the power backup generators with the addition of solar powered electricity generating capability. So, In contrast to green power generation Indigo Heights is one step ahead of Square one.

Furnishing

Square one with its four star hotel services operated would provide fully furnished apartments, which can be used for one night stays as well. I may not be able to tell you about the quality of furnishing as it would be seen after its completion. Best western premier would be operating the hotel so it will guarantee a high quality furnishing.

Whereas Indigo Heights offers finished apartments without the furnishing, which would mostly cater the people who would be residing there and will give rental on monthly basis. The apartments this building offers are greater in size than the ones in Square one, allowing the tenant to set up his/her own comfortable environment.

Payment Plans and Prices

Payments matter more than any other point for an investor. The investor needs to know if his investment is worth it or the project is nothing but a sugar coated deal. The monthly or quarterly installments to be made provide investor with the time needed for arranging payments.

The down payment for Square one is 26%, where as for Indigo Height’s is 30%. I found the prices very attractive for both of these dwellings.

Apartments offered by Indigo heights are a tad more cost effective at 18000 PKR per sqft but than they are not furnished as compared to hotel apartments of Square one at 22000 PKR  per sqft furnished.

Completion Times

Square one promises completion in 2019 which is a bit longer than the time period required by Indigo Heights which plans to hand over possession in Dec 2018 with its 10 extra floors.

Well, the pace of construction depends on the developers and their experience, the quality of work, the workforce and the equipment being used at the site. The completion time matter the most for the investors as they would be willing to get their returns as soon as possible.

Never the less both projects are undergoing speedy development and will be completed with not much difference apart. So while you can take advantage of earlier possession with Indigo heights you can enjoy more flexibility and time for payment with Square one.

Recommendation

Finally which one do i recommend? Technically both these projects are not alike and both of them offer some distinguished and unique features, so it all comes down to your personal choice. In my opinion if you want to open a jewelers related outlet than Square one is better than Indigo heights as it offers a dedicated ground floor for diamond and gold jewelry. In addition watch stores and fancier decorations may be more befitting here. However for super stores, retail outlets Indigo heights should be the first choice.

Indigo heights offer a 5 % possession guarantee and a 7 % rental guarantee on residential apartments and commercial shops after possession, this is not offered by Square One. In addition hotel apartments offered by Square one can not be used for your personal residence where as serviced apartments offered by Indigo heights can be used for personal residence or rental income.

Square one offers its investors a 30 days stay during a running year, without any charges and the rest of 11 months would be leased to the management for 25 years. While Indigo heights does not offer a completely free 30 days stay to its investors instead it provides apartments on special discount and very low cost for investors to stay if they need one. This should not be an issue though as staying for 30 days at Indigo heights may be almost equal to the 7 % rent you are getting from renting your apartment with Indigo heights.

Both these projects are being developed by skilled and professional developers and therefore secure for investment in every way. So at the end it all boils down to personal preference and choice.

I hope that by now you will be more clear about which direction you need to take and the differences between both these projects. You can call me and book an appointment for in depth analysis and visit of both projects to help you select the best option basing on your specific needs.

Contributed by

Investment consultant
Hassan Bhatti
Contact: +92 322 484 0979